New Yearhttp://www.openthemagazine.com/taxonomy/term/3979/feed
enIndraprasthahttp://www.openthemagazine.com/article/column/indraprastha-29
<p>A NEW YEAR HAS come and gone and we are now well into the third week of January. Yet, the usual markers of a new year, the humble diaries and calendars that we in the media have come to take for granted, are nowhere to be seen. Of course, blame this too on Modi. Since his advent in New Delhi at the head of a more purposeful, and—dare we say—tightfisted Government which frowns upon all extravagance at taxpayers’ cost, public sector undertakings have drastically cut back on PR budgets for such giveaways. As a result, some of the best diaries and calendars are no more to be had for you to dutifully distribute to domestic help, drivers, etcetera—the only people who still seemed to appreciate these handouts.</p>
<p>Probably, taking a cue from the stern taskmaster at 7 Race Course Road, er, sorry, Lok Kalyan Marg, even some of the richest private corporations have stopped printing multicolour diaries and calendars. A well-known multinational company in the FMCG business still brings out a modest diary which even in more spend-happy times looked rather unpretty with little functional value. However, we remain grateful to a large Hyderabad-based newspaper group for its highly useful diary with our name duly embossed on the front. The best thing about it is that it provides generous space for notes and reminders for each day of the year and therefore remains a fixture on our computer desk.</p>
<p>ONCE YOU ATTAIN a certain level of success in public life, you need advisors, speechwriters, etcetera. No small share of the credit for US President Kennedy’s popularity was attributed to his speechwriter, Ted Sorensen. A good one lends credence to a leader’s raw sentiments, unvarnished thoughts and constituency- specific appeal. Admittedly, a politician blessed with a silver tongue—for example, former Prime Minister AB Vajpayee—could always improve upon the words of the best speechwriter in the world. And, yes, Prime Minister Modi is a natural at holding forcefully forth from the political pulpit.</p>
<p>But this is not so of President Ram Nath Kovind. A lawyer by training, he did not quite set the Yamuna on fire with his orations during his time as an active politician. However, as the head of the Republic, he seems to be making up for that with his speeches on various official and semi- official occasions getting noticed as much for their content as for their easy comprehensibility. As a result, the media has begun to give more space to Kovind’s public events. And that change, we can tell, is largely due to the clever decision to hire Ashok Malik, a veteran journalist, as his press advisor. Malik’s thoroughness and keen mind for historical detail comes through increasingly in President Kovind’s public addresses. Small wonder then that the media no longer treats the President’s functions as non-events.</p>
<p>JIGNESH MEVANI WAS in Delhi a few days ago. But the capital seemed to have taken scant notice of the newly-elected independent MLA from Gujarat. He had shot to fame championing the Dalit cause. The noisy secularist-leftist brigade and its soulmates in the media, however, were all excitement, hoping against hope that in him lay the answer to their prayers for someone who could be a Modi-slayer. So, these worthies from well-funded anti-Modi NGOs vied with a few attached and unattached journos to fete the bearded hero of the anti-BJP contingent. There was plenty of gratuitous advice, though Mevani knows how to stay in the news. He was sought to be coached in the vocabulary of hate against the Sangh Parivar which flows effortlessly off the tongues of Sahmat-types who get disproportionately high media exposure, though not out of proportion to the size of their donations kitty. Thanks to the media’s Mevani love-fest, his flop public rally received top billing, with his words reported at length with nary a mention of his missing audience.</p>
<p>AND LAST BUT not the least, speculation that top four bowlers of the Indian cricket team, now touring South Africa, addressed a press conference to complain against the arbitrary manner in which Captain Virat Kohli assigns bowling to his favourites, particularly when lower-order batsmen are at the crease, is fake news. No such event took place. All members of the team remain committed to Kohli’s leadership of the team and have no intention of breaching the game’s well-laid norms of discipline and conduct. Amen.</p>
<img src="http://www.openthemagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/public%3A/Indraprastha_23.jpg?itok=LXRVXVGr" /><div>BY: Virendra Kapoor</div><div>Node Id: 23862</div>Thu, 18 Jan 2018 13:02:46 +0000vijayopen23862 at http://www.openthemagazine.comOnce in Royal David’s Cityhttp://www.openthemagazine.com/article/new-year-double-issue/once-in-royal-david-s-city
<p>CHRISTMAS IS THE biggest national festival in Britain. We don’t have a national day and our other public holidays have almost lost their religious associations, and even names: only us ancients speak of ‘Whit week’ (Pentecost). Easter is a long weekend but much less of an event than Christmas. I don’t think the message of death and redemption speaks to people as much as the miracle of birth and light in the darkness of a north European winter.</p>
<p>The seasonal associations mean it should be dark and cold with celebrations designed to comfort in these bleak times. Some of this is not dissimilar from the Scandinavian ‘hygge’ (pronounced to rhyme with cougar, I’m told), a buzzword this year, making fashionable the sensible idea of staying indoors in the evening and cosying up with an open fire, glowing candles and comfort food.</p>
<p>Childhood memories of Christmas may be false, but they give us a sense of continuity, a time of year when we link back to our past. In later years we may be able to afford all the things we want, but the idea of the family coming together and performing the same rituals again and again is part of who we are. The smell of mixed spice, cinnamon and nutmeg trigger these associations, prompting our wish to return to and re-enact our cherished rituals.</p>
<p>Everyone says that Christmas is being overtaken by commercialism, but this is an old chestnut (sorry). In the 1960s, when I was growing up, we were desperate for presents and some excess which were in rare supply from grandparents born in the Victorian era and parents who had lived through rationing in World War II, which didn’t end till 1954. I don’t want to sound like Monty Python’s ‘Four Yorkshiremen’, but getting a few satsumas in a sock were not the delights we girls hoped for, namely a doll. My grandfather’s red bicycle disappeared one autumn. I received a black bicycle for Christmas that was the same size and shape as the red one. Even as a child I saw through the trick. Now I allow myself excesses including Christmas china and all manner of extravagances despite—or because of—imagined disapproval.</p>
<p>We all celebrate multiple Christmases. The British Christmas itself draws upon many traditions which have all merged into one. It is the time of the Pagan Solstice, so we bring in evergreens, including holly and ivy, into the house. Thanks to Prince Albert, we have the Germanic Christmas tree. The traditional Norwegian spruce smells wonderful and has almost layered branches but quickly sheds its needles, so we now have the rather boring Nordmann fir instead (little or no needle drop). Decorating the tree is a great opportunity to allow a seasonal special outing for the British obsession with class, defined of course by the always relative merits of good taste. Should one be ironically kitsch, relying upon multi-coloured flashing lights? One must never try too hard to be tasteful, hence single-coloured matching ornaments are shunned by the cognoscenti. And God forbid should one opt for an artificial tree. I don’t know when poinsettias, mostly imported from India, became so popular, but they are undeniably jolly. A more secular, perhaps American, Christmas tinge has been added with Christmas songs, Bing Crosby’s <em>White Christmas</em>, more lights and our Father Christmas becoming Santa Claus.</p>
<p>One of the high points of this special season is how we change our diet, not just to eat more—the average Brit consumes 6,000-8,000 calories on Christmas Day—but also seasonal food, a mixture of medieval dried fruits and spices, with the turkey (or the ‘Indian bird’ as it is known in France, the dindon). I don’t know when pumpkin became traditional for vegetarians, but it seems well established now. I start my cooking the Sunday before Advent, stir-up Sunday. The reading, the Collect, that week is ‘Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ‘This is interpreted as time to literally stir up fruits, so puddings, cakes and mincemeat are made. I use the Old Monk I import from India in all of these and later add it to my rum sauce and put a dash in my trifle too.</p>
<p>The Advent calendar, which I wasn’t allowed at home for reasons I don’t recall, has a door to open every day, now usually containing chocolate although dear friends may note that there is one with a gin miniature for every day.</p>
<p>We all have our own family traditions too, and we add those of our new families as they accrue. We should all remember the less fortunate and actually dig into our pockets to do something for others at this time of year. Charity is therefore a significant part of a British Christmas.</p>
<p>I have spent many Christmases in India, mostly in Mumbai, but also once in Bhuj. Even celebrating Christmas in Goa, or Bandra, or Kolkata, I imagine, leaves me feeling that the year isn’t quite complete. The open air midnight mass at St Andrews, Bandra, on Christmas Eve is wonderful but is not the same as coming out into the cold night air from a not much warmer church. The food may be delicious, but it’s not what we had at home. I would miss the Indian Christmas sweets my Goan friend makes me, even in the UK, and while my Christmas tree ornaments and my crib may be supplemented by Indian ones, allowing many elephants to be added to the traditional ox, sheep and obligatory shepherds, along with the paper stars that I love, these serve as the outer layer over my recollections of the perfect childhood Christmas that never was.</p>
<p>Festivals are best enjoyed where they are shared among many. I’ve been to Navratri in Leicester where the dancing was fun but the aesthetics spoilt by men’s socks. Eid is a day when it’s hard to get a minicab, but no one sends me <em>Eidi</em> or my husband’s favourite <em>biryani</em>. I sometimes cook for Bhai Duj for friends on whom I tie a <em>rakhi</em>, but it’s just us. I may give up my usual black for Diwali, light some lamps and go out or have a dinner, but it had nothing of the one magical Diwali I spent in Mumbai, the morning at the <em>puja</em> at Yash Raj Studios and the evening at Yashji and Pam’s house. I’ve played Holi several times in India and enjoyed it thoroughly, but no one is going to play Holi in London in March. One day I’ll be in Kolkata for the Pujas...</p>
<p>Christmas doesn’t feature often in Hindi films. I know few Indian Christmas songs, though all the beggars know at least the words ‘jingle bells’, and Santa hats abound. I know spoofs of <em>Twelve Days of Christmas</em> and ‘What man Santa’ but the carols in Indian languages are not part of my Christmas.</p>
<p>Some of my friends find <em>Citizen Khan</em> hilarious, others racist. The Christmas special was very funny as Mr Khan was forced by his family to celebrate Christmas. I’m always willing to join in any festival—especially if there’s food involved—and hope that everyone should enjoy their Christmas, whether they believe in it or not. Don’t worry about the details, but plunge into the ‘tidings of comfort and joy’ that the world needs. Peace on earth, goodwill to men, angels singing, all of us getting together to march to Bethlehem to see a baby as the king of all creation. And lights and food and fun. Many of my friends, whatever their religion even if they have none at all, revel in the beauty of the church service, with the great carols, an evocation of both medieval and pagan.</p>
<p>We have been lucky in having a godson at Westminster school so have enjoyed the annual carol service in the Abbey. Sitting among the graves of the great and the good (this year I was next to Sir Isaac Newton), we sing proper Anglican carols, lighting each other’s candles as the choir’s voices soar over the thundering organ and brassy trumpets.</p>
<p>In the week before Christmas, the lists are ticked off, the flowers and decorations come and family and neighbours visit. Yet Christmas begins in earnest for me on Christmas Eve at 3 pm with the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, broadcast from King’s College, Cambridge. The pastry is ready to roll for my mince pies as soon as the first carol, <em>Once in Royal David’s City</em>, begins. We pray for the world, including our sovereign, then for the less fortunate. Tears flow freely as we remember the people who made our Christmases so special when we were young: ‘Lastly let us remember before God all those who rejoice with us, but upon another shore and in a greater light, that multitude which no man can number, whose hope was in the Word made flesh, and with whom we for evermore are one.’ Then it’s time to start the celebrations of this deeply religious yet also secular festival.</p>
<p>I hope I won’t offend anyone but I can’t say ‘Happy Holidays’. Please invite me to your festival instead. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to us all.</p>
<img src="http://www.openthemagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/public%3A/Davidcity.jpg?itok=cHlHeQ7Q" /><div>BY: Rachel Dwyer</div><div>Node Id: 22373</div>Thu, 22 Dec 2016 08:42:41 +0000vijayopen22373 at http://www.openthemagazine.comMy Anti-Resolutionshttp://www.openthemagazine.com/article/voices/my-anti-resolutions
By the time you read this column, we’ll be well into the third week of January. Basically, almost six per cent of the year is already behind us. If you’re still determinedly plowing through your resolutions for 2014, you’re a better person than I am. In a moment of misplaced bravado, egged on by equally foolish friends and with enough alcohol sloshing about our insides to make it seem like a brilliant idea, the best friend and I aired our wildly unrealistic resolutions on Facebook, the official chronicler of poor decisions and embarrassing emotional outbursts since 2006. If karma is a bitch, Facebook is its record-keeping best friend. Dignity: exit, stage left. Acute mortification: enter, stage right.
<p>Needless to say, the deeds of that night came back to haunt us in all its WTF-I-never-committed-to-that glory the next morning. Triple-digit ‘likes’ and double-digit comments on our promises to reduce our carbon footprints, spend at least 10 hours a week at home with parents (non-inclusive of time spent freeloading on their wifi) and generally behave like the love child of Mother Teresa and Madiba in 2014.</p>
<p>And then something wonderful happened. An angel in the form of a friend tweeted a link to an article that changed my life, titled, quite simply, ‘14 Fucks I Refuse to Give in 2014’. Its writer is my newest hero. And since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, here’s my list of the five things I shall not be wasting any more fucks on. It’s a celebration of all that’s delightfully mediocre and imperfect in me. I’m giving up on some parts of myself. And it feels fabulous!</p>
<p><strong>Writing every day.</strong> For years now, I’ve faked it. ‘Of course I write every day. I have to. I need to.’ Bullshit. I meet most of my deadlines only after a generous gulp of a potent cocktail that’s one part panic and two parts the-editor-is-going-to-shove-a-pole-up-your-pert-bottom. Suddenly, the fingers fly across the keyboard and I’m not tempted to gaze vacantly outside my window, mid-sentence. It’s the only way I know to write. I can almost hear the synchronised gasps of my Jaipur Lit Fest-ing friends. Oh well.</p>
<p><strong>Not being obsessive.</strong> If there were a universal test of cool, I’d fail it spectacularly. I’m often told I need to learn to let things go. I’ve tried and it’s just too much work. So I’m going to make peace with the fact that I have detailed Excel sheets recording which friend borrowed what book on what date and time. And now that I’m no longer pretending to be easygoing, if you’ve squirreled away one of mine, be worried. No, it doesn’t matter that it was a tatty second-hand copy, it’s still mine.</p>
<p><strong>Travelling.</strong> I know it’s what all the cool kids do. It lubricates conversation and it gets you laid. I have friends who’ve used the ‘I got Leh’d’ line for years after their soul-searching, life-changing, finding-the-purpose-of-life solitary sojourn to charm their way into women’s pants. There’s just too much pressure to find a corner of the world that six people in the world have heard about and travel to it. But I’m giving up on it. I’ve realised that even though I love all mountains, I like the ones with electricity and cottages with warm beds more. Freezing cold water in pipes and sleeping on a bed of twigs doesn’t build my character, it brings out the worst there is in it. So I guess I’ll get Leh’d when the guys at Holiday Inn do.</p>
<p><strong>Running.</strong> Runners are the new writers. There was a time not long ago when everyone was writing a book. Now, everyone’s running. On an average day, I wake up to a Twitter feed buzzing with the kilometres these champion marathoners have covered at ungodly hours. It makes me want to dissolve into a puddle of shame. No more. I’ll amble, stroll and saunter; I’ll take longer than necessary to tie my shoelaces because I’m staring at the sea. And if you have a cute enough butt, I’ll stare at that too as you whizz past me.</p>
<p><strong>Car-pooling.</strong> This one’s going to take some effort because I’m really not one of those douchebags who doesn’t care about what they’re doing to the environment. I spend thousands getting my car checked for efficient fuel consumption and emission. I’ve forbidden my driver from honking because God knows Mumbai doesn’t need more aggression or additions to its already deafening noise-levels. But I hate car-pooling with strangers. My car is as personal to me as my handbag. And you don’t allow strangers to dive into your bag, do you?</p>
<p>Wish you a guilt-free new year.</p>
<img src="http://www.openthemagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/public%3A/sheets-resolutions.jpg?itok=mWwhmTcu" /><div>BY: Sonali Khan</div><div>Node Id: 13348</div>Fri, 17 Jan 2014 15:12:07 +0000arindam13348 at http://www.openthemagazine.comLooking Back at the Next Decadehttp://www.openthemagazine.com/article/world/looking-back-at-the-next-decade
<p>Physicist Stephen Hawking presented the most potent argument against the possibility of time travel. If it could happen, he said, there would be lots of people from the future among us already. <em>Open</em> takes a big risk and attempts a future history. Of the next ten years. Not consistency, but imagination, and a spot of whimsy. And serious fun.</p>
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<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/international/the-decade-in-review">»The Decade in Review</a></p>
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<p>President Palin and the new state of Talibstan. Tsk tsk, and that’s the good news compared to China’s response to India’s ‘obduracy’ on Tibet and Aishwarya Rai.</p>
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<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/international/the-decade-in-review">»</a><a target="_blank" href="http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/international/pakistan-circa-2020">Pakistan circa 2020</a></p>
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<p>The great four-way split happened five years ago, in 2015, but the impact is still being felt, what with the latest Pashtoonistani crisis.</p>
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<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/international/the-decade-in-review">»</a><a target="_blank" href="http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/international/and-still-counting">…and Still Counting</a></p>
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<p>Who remembers climate change? Reporting from the second UN Population Summit from Mumbai.</p>
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<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/international/the-decade-in-review">»</a><a href="http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/nation/slow-pace-of-fast-change" target="_blank">Slow Pace of Fast Change</a></p>
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<p>The Rahul-led Congress has been on a rollercoaster that could disorient anybody else–just not Rahul.</p>
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<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/international/the-decade-in-review">»</a><a href="http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/business/the-switch" target="_blank">The Switch</a></p>
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<p>With China snatching pole position from the US, all bets are off. But we saw it coming—two decades ago.</p>
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<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/international/the-decade-in-review">»</a><a href="http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/business/days-in-the-sun" target="_blank">Days in the Sun</a></p>
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<p>The Indian economy is in turbocharge mode, as business booms louder than the grandest Diwali.</p>
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<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/international/the-decade-in-review">»</a><a href="http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/living/ultimately-it-s-black" target="_blank">Ultimately It’s Black</a></p>
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<p>Faced with too many common folk, <em>Facebook</em> went exclusive with a snazzy new version—only by invitation.</p>
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<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/international/the-decade-in-review">»The</a><a href="http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/art-culture/evergreen-newsmakers" target="_blank"> Newsmakers</a></p>
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<p>A compulsive daydreamer teleports himself to 2019 to doodle a future history of the newsmakers of the next decade.</p><img src="http://www.openthemagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/public%3A/looking-back.jpg?itok=0fz5lTOs" /><div>BY: Team Open</div><div>Node Id: 4395</div>Thu, 31 Dec 2009 10:58:30 +0000marilyn4395 at http://www.openthemagazine.comWhere’s the Party? http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/living/where-s-the-party
<p>This New Year’s eve, as the clock strikes midnight and ushers in a new decade, Soumya Sarin’s first words will be,“<em>Hyvaa Uuttavuotta</em>”. That’s Happy New Year in Finnish. And a happy New Year it certainly will be for the 29-year-old PR executive,as she sips delicate wines and parties in the snowy white stretches lit by a beautiful, pale, winter sun.</p>
<p>“This is not your ordinary New Year’s eve,” says Sarin, who says she’s determined to usher in the New Year in style. “It is a beginning of a new decade, a beginning of a new era of sorts, full of fresh opportunities and possibilities. And I plan to mark this historic occasion by partying the night away in a place that mirrors this freshness of spirit,” she says.</p>
<p>Move over Goa and Kerala, with crowded beaches and overbooked hotels. It’s time for the more exotic locales of Finland, Sri Lanka, Tahiti, Peru, Egypt and Brazil. This holiday season, it’ all about the unusual and extraordinary.</p>
<p>The average Indian traveller seems to share Sarin’s upbeat mood and is leaving no stone un­turned to ensure that the year’s most awaited night is an occasion to remember. No longer does he wish to jostle for space on the alpine slopes of Switzerland or spend New Year’s eve danc­ing in the queue outside a popular nightclub in Thailand. He wants a night of cheery revelry and unforgettable experiences in a place that hasn’t been choked to death by masses of the big fat Indian family.</p>
<p>“I spent the last New Year’s eve on the road in Bangkok, trying to make my way through the huge crowds. By the end of it, I was simply ex­hausted by all the effort. And I was on holiday!” laughs Ashish Kohli, a marketing executive with a well-known MNC. So this year, he wants to spend New Year’s eve at a place which will offer panoramic views, virgin beaches and a night of endless festivities. “So, I am heading to Sri Lanka with my family. I have opted for a customised tea plantations tour after which I plan to usher in the new decade on a cruise,” he says.</p>
<p>And it’s not just Kohli who’s taking off for Lanka. The tropical island nation is the choice of many a end- of-the-year holidayer. In fact, the maximum number of queries are not for far-off places but for Lanka. “It is the most sought after destination for this New Year’s eve celebrations, with every third query being for Sri Lanka. Ever since the LTTE clean-up, people have been queu­ing up by the dozen to experience the unique culture and heritage to this country,” explains Nikhil Thakurdas of Odyssey Travels.</p>
<p>For most Indians, the party will be at the royal city of Kandy with its amalgamation of history, culture, traditional shops and urban buzz. And those who wish to welcome the year on a quieter note are heading to Arugam Bay, replete with picture-perfect hamlets, great lagoon trips and awesome surfing opportunities.</p>
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<p>DUBAI LOYAL</p>
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<p>Dubai may be making headlines for all the wrong reasons, but the Indian traveller can’t seem to get enough of the cocktail of glitz and glam­our in this city. Despite the recent bust-up, tour­ists who have already booked their tickets for Dubai are still going ahead with their plans. “Like Singapore, Dubai too lives from one festival to an­other. Hotels and malls are going ahead with the planned celebrations, despite the reported real estate depression,” says Thakurdas.</p>
<p>Jumeirah Beach, complete with lavish gala dinners, rocking concerts and extravagant fireworks displays, is the place to be on the big party night. “People are also opting for the Singapore-Maldives cruise. The Louis Cruise Liner, the first liner to operate in India after Star Cruises shut shop in the country, is also quite popular,” adds Thakurdas. And it’s not going to make that much of a dent in your bank balance either. Three nights on the cruise ship, from Cochin to Colombo or the Maldives, comes for Rs 17,550 per person.</p>
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<p>GRAPES OF MIRTH</p>
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<p>Thirteen grapes at the witching hour is the stuff of celebration in Lima. That’s how Peruvians usher in the New Year and that’s what many adventurous Indian travellers will do this year. According to a Peruvian custom, these thirteen grapes assure good luck. Prospects of visiting the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, grooving to the Peruvian beats at the New Year carnival, sampling the local delicacy of ceviche or raw seafood marinated in lime juice, embarking on a panoramic train ride through the Andes and taking the slow boat down the Amazon are just some of the attractions that are steadily nudging the Indian traveller to visit this spectacular country of special rewards.</p>
<p>If you are still on the crazy New Year customs trail then head to Helsinki in Finland. As the bells toll at the Helsinki Cathedral, heralding the arrival of the New Year, you’re supposed to melt a piece of tin on a spoon. The molten tin is then quickly dropped into cold water, where it forms a shape that is said to foretell your future.</p>
<p>But no matter what shape the future holds, Helsinki is a great place to kiss the year goodbye. The thing to do is to get invited to a private party by a local Finn. Pulsating music, great seafood and delicious local drinks—it’s a glimpse into the heart of Finland. Those interested in spending a white New Year can head to the snowy stretches of Lapland. A dreamy stroll under the midnight sun, a rendezvous with a lynx in an enchanted wood and tea with Santa Claus; Lapland offers this and much more.</p>
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<p>THE NEW (YEAR) WAVE</p>
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<p>Countries are going out of their way to brand themselves as the perfect party hotspots. “Nations like Egypt and New Zealand have been marketing themselves as the ideal New Year destinations and it is no wonder that a bulk of Indian tourists are headed to Cairo and Christchurch this year,” says Ashutosh Mehere of Cox & Kings. The Cairo itinerary usually takes you through Luxor and Aswan, and combines sightseeing with New Year bashes aboard the cruise.</p>
<p>New Zealand is the ideal place for travellers who are looking for a more wholesome experience, something more than just that one explosive night of dance and music. In fact, the country is marketing itself as the destination for those seeking thrill and adventure. A guided tour to the glow worm caves in the Waitomo region, a trip to the Te Puia Thermal Reserve, a journey aboard the Tranz Alpine train, bungee jumping, jet boating and white-water rafting—New Zealand is all this and more.</p>
<p>Yet another destination that’s making its way into the itineraries of Indian tourists is sunny Cyprus. This ‘island of Aphrodite’ has become quite the favourite for young couples who wish to welcome the New Year on a romantic note. There is a boisterous side to Cyprus as well. Step onto the Finikoudes, the promenade in Larnaca, which will be hosting open air celebrations this year. With free drinks, spectacular fireworks and sumptuous street food, New Year’s eve celebrations don’t get much better, not to mention more boisterous, than this. “Cyprus is the closest European destination for Indians. Its balmy Mediterranean climate makes it an ideal holiday spot. English is widely spoken here as it was a former British colony. And moreover, there are more than 19 Indian restaurants which make it even more comfortable for the Indian traveller,” explains Mehere.</p>
<p>If it’s culture that’s on your mind, try the French Fantasy tour by Thomas Cook which will take you on a leisurely holiday to Paris and Nice. You start by seeing the famous sights of Paris, like the Place de la Concorde, Champs Elysees and Arc de Triomphe and then drive on towards the 16th district, which is one of the most prestigious areas of Paris. After a luxurious cruise on River Seine and a trip to the famous Eiffel Tower, you proceed to Nice, Monaco and Monte Carlo for a night tour. You could enjoy a carefree stroll down the streets of Monaco with its quaint little cafes and eateries or try your hand at any of the famous casinos. New Year’s eve could be spent in the legendary Moneguasque Opera, which has staged works by authors such as Bizet, Franck and Massenet since its creations in 1879. And if you’re in the mood for some swing and swirl, the Summer Sporting Club and Jimmy’z Disco are the places to be.</p>
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<p>NO PRICE TOO HIGH</p>
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<p>The excitement of ushering in a new decade has the usually cautious Indian traveller in an extravagant mood. A trip to the fragrant citrus orchards of Cyprus or a walk down the sugary white beaches of Tahiti comes with a hefty price tag, but the Indian holidayer doesn’t seem to mind loosening his purse strings for this. So what’s hefty? Well, here’s a lowdown. Spending six days in Tahiti could mean shelling out at least Rs 1.5 lakh per person while a fortnight-long trip to the ancient cities of the Incas in South America could cost around Rs 1.4 lakh a head. Breathtakingly beautiful New Zealand may be, but it comes at a price. An eight days/nine nights trip will set you back by about Rs 1,10,000 per person on a twin-sharing basis.</p>
<p>But for the avid traveller, it is the experience that matters, no matter what the cost.</p>
<p>No matter where the Indian reveller is headed, be it right in the neighbourhood or across the seven seas, everyone hopes their New Year experience will be a special one, the harbinger to an exciting and pleasant decade ahead. As a poet once said, “For last year’s words belong to last year’s language, and next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.”</p><img src="http://www.openthemagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/public%3A/party.jpg?itok=YVzt7BT2" /><div>BY: Avantika Bhuyan</div><div>Node Id: 4076</div>Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:17:53 +0000marilyn4076 at http://www.openthemagazine.com